Lucknow: Now, demand to remove Maulana Salman from Nadva College too

After being shown the door by All India Muslim Personal Law Board for mooting a proposal to shift the Ayodhya mosque(now demolished) away from the disputed site, Maulana Salman Nadvi has come under attack in Nadva College, Lucknow -- the institution where he teaches.

After being shown the door by All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) for mooting a proposal to shift the Ayodhya mosque (now demolished) away from the disputed site, Maulana Salman Nadvi has come under attack in Nadva College, Lucknow -- the institution where he teaches.

Those opposed to the stand taken by the cleric, now want him to be removed from the institution, as well.

What triggered the move is an audio-tape recording of former Rajya Sabha member Mohammad Adeeb suggesting that Maulana Salman should be dismissed from the Nadva College, too. It is not clear who the ex-MP, also a member of AIMPLB, is talking to but the caller seems to be associated with Nadva. HT has the copy of the conversation.

“We have heard the recording. It is the most talked about subject on the campus, albeit in a hushed manner,” admits a college staffer, who did not want to be named.

On being asked why in a hushed manner, the staffer says: “The Islamic seminary is headed by AIMPLB president Maulana Rabey Hasani Nadvi and Maulana Salman is his nephew, how can he take action against him.”

Adeeb also says as much in the tape. “Maulana Rabey sharief insaan hain magar aap log pressure banaiye, inko (Maulana Salman) wahan se rukhsat kijiye” (Maulana Rabey is a decent person but you all build a pressure on him to get Maulana Salman removed).”

He goes a step further, “In fact, now I wonder whether I should call him (Salman) a ‘Maulana’ (a religious degree in Islamic studies) or not.”

Adeeb also accuses the chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANU) Zafar Sareshwala, considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the man at the bottom of the controversy.

“This fellow (Sareshwala) created fissures in Tablighi Jammat, which was an apolitical organization, and now he is out to split the AIMPLB,” says the former MP.

“It was Maulana Salman, who invited him (Sareshwala) to AIMPLB’s Jaipur meeting, even though he is not a member, to convey a message from the PM. But I and Asaduddin Owaisi (Hyderabad MP of AIMIM) forced Sareshwala to leave the venue,” he claims.

Repeated calls and text messages to Maulana Salman Nadvi by HT to get his version on the issue failed to elicit any response.